Pvt.Ryles never minded field assaults, cause usually the marines would be dominant in numbers and able to corral the covenant up and take them out all at once, but within this alien structure fighting the Covenant in close corridors, never knowing when he'll be forced into a firefight or a trap, Pvt.Ryles would have preferred attacking 50 Covenant on his own outside any day.

Pvt.Ryles

Out on the Beach we surrounded the Covenant and killed the majority of em. We even were able to run a few down with our jeep, but some escaped into the structure we were sent here to investigate. Inside we had to brake off into groups of four as we all headed in multiple directions of the maze like insides of this alien structure.

Going down the first couple of passages was easy enough, we only had to engage two Covenant warriors who were already wounded from the battle outside and tried to run instead of fight, but were quickly cut down in a rain of bullets from our pulse rifles.Now we stood in a dark enclosed corridor leading to a large room of some sort.

Plasma fire erupted from within the room ahead as I watched it slam into the girl to the left of me. She instantly screamed as it created a hole the size of a fist in her right side. I pushed her around a corner quickly firing off a few bursts from my rifle at the incoming hostiles. Covering her while she removed her shattered chest plate, she moaned in agony. One Covenant was brave or shall I say, foolish enough to try entering the corridor where we were entrapped. I responded to this by tossing a frag grenade under his feet, eventually exploding behind him. The explosion threw him headfirst passed me slamming onto the metallic ground clearly dead. The girl was examining her wounds as I was looking for someone to flash me a smile at my recent victory. All I got was a face full of distress as it looked like we'd only get her out if two of us were able to carry her out by her hands and feet. That would only happen if we could kill every last one of these Covenant bastards.

The incessant streams of plasma that poured from the doorway of the room ahead was only responded with a few bursts from our rifles showing that we were still alive in here. Constantly glancing at the ammo gauge on my rifle I fired in quick bursts barely aiming to hit anything. Remembering my two other squad mates I looked across the corridor just in time to see the one closest to me take a plasma shot to the face, replacing it with a charred hole all the way through his head. Obviously he won't be helping me drag the girl out of here. Noticing his dead comrade next to him, the only living guy on the other side of the corridor tossed a grenade directly in the room stopping the plasma fire momentarily as I pictured the covenant ducking for cover. He then turned to me, "Quickly get her the hell out of here, I'll hold em off as long as possible. Hell, I might even see you guys again*" The smirk of a hero lit up on his face for only an instant as he fired off another round in the Covenant's direction.

I helped the girl off the ground as she leaned her weight onto my shoulder and her ankles dragged along the ground for she was on the verge of going unconscious on me. Hearing another grenade explode as the heroic guy across the corridor tossed one to stop the enemy fire so we could escape, I started out from my cover heading back up the corridor to safety with my wounded comrade. The sound of the battle going on behind me had barely faded at all before I heard the screams of my second dead squad mate echo down the corridor to where I was helping the girl up a ramp. She motioned for me to set her down in a relatively safe place just beyond the doorway to the ramp. She regrettably said, "I can't go on any further, leave me here. If one of us doesn't stop those bastards from following us we're both dead." I saw that she was trying to be a hero so I could escape. I replied with, "Yes one of us must*and I'm not gonna let you die down here." I left her there as I proceeded back down the corridor to kill every last one of those god damn sons of bitches.

I ducked around a corner when I heard the weird vocals of a covenant at work, talking to the rest of his kind. Probably telling his men to head in different directions to find me and the girl cause we had passed multiple conjunctions to other passageways on the way back up. I heard one of the covenant's footsteps getting closer and closer. I drew back into a very dark corner, drawing the pistol from my belt aiming for where the covenant's head was soon to be.

Of course I saw the tip of his plasma rifle first, then a foot and finally*his head. We a loud thump the Covenant's body dropped to the floor motionless as my pistol had quickly blew a hole through the side of his head. Almost as quickly as I dropped the warrior, I heard another one shout out and open fire trying to scare me away while he looked for cover. I turned the corner with my rifle on my shoulder, unleashing an entire clip onto the remaining Covenant. I watched in enjoyment as a few of my bullets pierced his skin spouting out his neon blue blood onto the floor. He was well wounded by my fire before he was able to dodge behind a corner. I turned back around my corner searching for another clip to my rifle, "God damnit!" I muttered as I realized I had just fired off my very last clip at him and didn't even kill him. I lifted the shoulder harness off and dropped the pulse rifle onto the floor. I brought my pistol out from being holstered and was about to turn the corner to fire upon the Covenant again when my attention turned to the other Covenant's corpse. Lying beside it was the plasma rifle he had been holding. I grinned and dodged across to the other side of the corridor firing off three rounds from my pistol in order to force the wounded Covenant to hide just a little longer. I switched my pistol to my right hand and I grabbed the plasma rifle out from under the dead covenant with my left hand, then raised it to my side as a volley of plasma started towards me from the wounded Covenant. I hid behind the opposite corner from where I started and holstered my pistol once again to grip my new toy with both hands.

I reached out from cover and pulled the covenant corpse closer to me to provide me with some cover. I crouched behind it and started to open fire on the wounded Covenant. I saw his head quickly dodge back around the corner because my aim was quite good with the plasma rifle. It left the metallic surface of the wall charred black from the plasma. I couldn't help but smile. I could hear the wounded covenant mutter something, probably complaining about how I stole his friend's weapon. Which only gave me even more confidence as I lifted myself out from cover and ran towards his position firing burst after burst from my plasma rifle at him. He finally turned the corner to return fire when I caught him with a burst of plasma to his chest, killing him. I leaned over the corpse surveying my kill. I then started to look how much ammo was left in my weapon just like I would've done if I were still carrying my pulse rifle. "What the hell, Where is it?" I whispered out loud as I scanned the plasma rifle for the location of the ammo gauge. I couldn't find it all*wait a sec*the gun has unlimited ammo. Holy shit, I just hit the god damn jackpot. I glanced around for any signs of nearby enemies as I continued to examine the features of my new weapon. I noticed there was a second trigger on it which I was itching to use. I stealthily headed back down the corridor to where my former two squad mates had given their lives in this god forsaken war.

I saw a Covenant warrior standing over the bodies of the two fallen soldiers probably holding the position till the rest get back from finding the girl and me. I slowly crept up to him trying to catch him by surprise. I was close enough to open fire now and so I felt like trying out the second trigger on this baby. Pressing it I heard the rifle start to churn, the Covenant heard it to and looked in my direction. In that moment a huge blast of plasma erupted from my rifle slamming into the Covenant knocking him backwards onto the wall. He was covered in plasma, charred from head to foot. His smoking remains slid from off the wall onto the floor. I think I just realized why the Covenant may have been winning this war.

Looking what the fate of the hero was I saw, judging from the direction of the blasts, he had been first hit on the shoulder then as he leaned against the wall they stood over top of him and fired down into his chest. "Poor guy." I thought. I just then was reminded that now that most of the Covenant on the chase for us were dead, I should head back to check on the girl. Maybe I can even brag about my new plasma rifle too*

Perhaps Pvt.Ryles won't be so happy when he sees what fate has beheld his last remaining squad mate*tune in next time for part two of Close Combat*